Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday wished Chief Minister Siddaramaiah “all the best” after he said that he would complete a five-year term in office.
The Deputy CM said there was nothing wrong with MLAs going and meeting leaders in Delhi when the Cabinet reshuffle is on the cards.
Reacting to Siddaramaiah’s statement in Mysuru on Friday that he would not only complete his year tenure but also present budgets in the future, Shivakumar said, “The CM has said he will complete five tenures. I wish him all the best. We will all work together.”
There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the chief minister’s post after the declaration of Assembly election results on 20 May 2023, and the Congress had managed to convince the latter and made him the Deputy CM. There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a “rotational chief minister formula,” according to which Shivakumar will become CM after two-and-a-half years, but they have not been officially confirmed by the party.
Shivakumar, who is also the Congress state president, said he did not believe in factionalism. “I don’t have any faction. I am not the leader of any faction. I am the president of the 140 (Congress) MLAs. To me, all the 140 MLAs are important. I am neither interested in taking any group with me nor I want to form any group. I will not do that. Forming any group is not in my blood. All 140 are my MLAs,” he told reporters.
